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Missing Potential Earth-Busting Asteroid Found

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-a-froo dept.

Billosaur writes "A potentially disastrous 40-year-old mystery has been solved: Where is asteroid 6344 P-L? Back in 1960, asteroid 6344 P-L was identified and classified as a 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid,' meaning that its orbit brings it perilously close to Earth's orbit (on the cosmic scale). Unfortunately, it then disappeared, or more precisely, was lost from view. Flash forward to 2007 and scientists believe that 6344 P-L has been rediscovered as 2007 RR9. Further, they are not sure it is an actual asteroid, but actually a comet fragment, which won't hit the Earth anytime soon but bears watching."

15 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. That Close! by treyTTU · · Score: 5, Funny

    Close in astronomic scale and we just "lost" it for a while, like, perhaps we took our eye off the ball?

    1. Re:That Close! by WaltBusterkeys · · Score: 3, Funny

      we just "lost" it for a while

      I once was lost, but now I'm found.

      like, perhaps we took our eye off the ball?

      I once was blind, but now I see.

      That said, there went my plan to spend all 48 hours of the last weekend on earth popping penguin mints and playing Halo 3. I guess I'll just have to do that this weekend instead.

    2. Re:That Close! by bigpat · · Score: 4, Funny

      like, perhaps we took our eye off the ball? If by "eye" you mean telescope and by "ball" you mean big chunk of rock and ice in space that could smack into the earth someday and kill everyone, then yes, like that.
  2. comet fragment by edxwelch · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Further, they are not sure it is an actual asteroid, but actually a comet fragment

    I don't know about you, but I would perfer to go extinict by asteroid rather than a puny comet fragement

  3. The unofficial name by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 4, Funny

    for the asteroid/comet fragment is 'Waldo'.

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  4. I'm getting tired of this... by R2.0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can't we just get whacked by a planetkiller and be done with it? Think of the benefits:

    Global warming made irrelevant.

    Overpopulation? Not anymore.

    Think of it as God (or the FSM) saying "Aww, fuck it" and hitting the reset button.

    --
    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    1. Re:I'm getting tired of this... by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Funny

      Can it wait just a little bit longer? I swear I'm just about to get mod points.

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    2. Re:I'm getting tired of this... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 3, Funny

      http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF032AD-Reset.jpg

  5. Re:Good by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did you leave them on a comet fragment?

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    The enemies of Democracy are
  6. OT: slashdot, allright by l3v1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'll be off topic, but I still have to say, it's not even funny anymore when I see this story got tagged as: science, space, linuxbites, linuxisinsecure, linuxsucks Get a grip already.

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  7. Asteroid collisions are like hard disks crashes by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Funny

    Asteroid collisions are like hard disks crashes. May it happen? Yes, in theory. But the chance that it will actually happen is extremely low. So it is not something to be so worried abo#`%${%&+'$`%& NO CARRIER

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
  8. do none of you watch movies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of COURSE they're saying it isn't going to hit Earth. What else can they say? If they tell us the truth, which is that they found it because it's going to slam into the Earth before the end of month, there would be mass panic, lawlessness, total anarchy.

    I've been observing it since they found it, and I just did some quick calculations using Excel, and I can confirm that it IS going to hit Earth.

    1. Re:do none of you watch movies? by HarvardAce · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've been observing it since they found it, and I just did some quick calculations using Excel, and I can confirm that it IS going to hit Earth. You are probably using Excel 2003 or earlier. The astronomers are using Excel 2007.
      --
      Note to self: Stop putting jokes in my insightful comments so I can get something other than +1 Funny!
  9. Re:So close by PlatyPaul · · Score: 5, Informative
    Despite its current distance, it's important to note just how much a threat it could be. From TFA:

    [During its first observation period (as 6344 P-L), its] orbit took it within .05 astronomical units (about 4,650,000 miles) of Earth's orbit

    [It will be] making a reappearance this year as part of a 4.7-year orbit

    Yes, this year it's going to be within 0.7 AU (~6.5 million miles), but it has a closest observed approach of 0.05 AU. For reference, it's useful to know that the term AU (Astronomical Unit) is derived from an approximation of the average distance of the Earth from the Sun (which is assigned the distance of 1 AU accordingly). Additionally, our moon averages at approximately 0.0025 AU from the Earth, so we're talking about an object which has passed within 2 moon-lengths from us during observation.

    So:
    • Short orbit
    • Has passed close within the past 50 years
    • Dynamic path
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  10. Re:So close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    If your numbers are correct would that not be 20 moon lengths? 0.0025 * 2 = 0.005, not 0.05.